Origins of Gravemind
by SonofX51
Summary: Hundreds of years before the times of Halo Combat Evolved and Halo 2, it is the Age of Conversion in the Covenant timeline, the rings have just been dicovered, and an Elite will witness the truth behind the Prophets, and at the same time, a Hellish future
1. Chapter 1

**Prologue-** It is the Age of Conversion. The uprising Covenant is growing strong to its fullest and all of the Sacred Rings have been discovered. This is a time that all members of the Covenant should savor and rejoice; they have found the instruments of their Lords, making the Path to The Great Journey, even closer.

Yet as glorious as these times may seem, an utter crisis has been spawned, The Grunt Rebellion. Although this rebellion of the Unggoy seemed to be of little threat at the beginning, this mutiny is yet growing stronger, putting the Covenant in fear of Civil War. Even as this threat builds, the holy Hierarchs of the Covenant is putting an unlucky Sangheili Honor Guard on trial.

**Part I- Erupt Beginnings**

**Chapter 1- _On Trial_**

"You dare to question me?" The holy Prophet of Sorrow said cold heartedly.

"No, Holy One, I was only trying my best to pro-" replied Erhi 'Arguree, interrupted by The Prophet of Hope.

"Leaving your post and injuring the Prophet of Peace is not our definition of protection. You almost killed him."

Seeing as how the trial was going, the case was that a large amount of Unggoy attacked the Hierarchs. Yet the Honor Guard, Erhi 'Arguree, stepped in to kill the Unggoy who attacked the Prophet of Peace. Yet, in that process, Erhi 'Arguree's Energy Sword cut and pierced Peace's neck, almost killing him. After the harsh accident, the leading Prophet, Hope, accused Erhi 'Arguree of attempted murder against a Hierarch. Later, he was thrown into a holding cell, until his verdict was decided.

"You are an embarrassment to the Covenant society!" Yelled Sorrow.

"I, I apologize for my heresy. It will not happen again," replied 'Arguree.

"Oh, it won't. I'll make sure of that." Hope paused. "We shall discuss your verdict later, for I have other business to attend to. Guards, take this heretic scum back to hi http/comteche.us/sitebuilder/users/masterkc/main.html s cell!" The Hierarchs teleported back to their quarters. 'Arguree watched as a mesmerizing light surrounded the prophets and then vanished.

The Honor Guards cuffed 'Arguree, "You have brought shame to the Sangheili, brother. You shall not sneak your way out of this, as you did before," spoke one of the guards.

"Don't fraternize with me, I was only doing my part of the Covenant, accidents hap-" Again he is cut off.

"I do not want to hear another word out of you, heretic." The guard knocked him unconscious, making his journey back to his cell much easier.

Hope activated his hologram receptor. "What is it, Ship Master?"

"My lord, there is a strange disturbance the Descendant. It seems many explosions have been set off. My ship can see it from here." Another explosion, yet this time, the Descendant is destroyed completely, but many escape pods have been deployed. Ship Master Luma 'Faramee, of the Resident Abroad, confirmed that the escape pods are filled with Rebel Unggoy. "Shall we send our Seraph fighting squad, Prophet of Hope?"

"Yes, immediately!" Hope deactivated his hologram receptor. "I fear the Covenant is breaking apart, yet again."

"Then we have no choice, but to find another." Sorrow said vaguely.

"Yes, perhaps we could use 'Arguree for the task. He is of great skill, and

this task is of great burden. It shall be his punishment, as well," spoke deeply by the Prophet of Hope.

"Yet, we cannot let the council know of this, they will feel confused. We

also cannot let go of our secrets."

"I agree with you, Sorrow. Letting any of our secrets known even to the

lower prophets is forbidden. We already have a crisis on our hands, but it feels required we tell the Great Trio about this, for they had always kept secrets at hand."

Luma 'Faramee showed up in his hologram state once again. "My lords, all Rebel escape Pods have been obliterated, I am calling off the Seraph's now, I appreciate your concern great Prophet of Hope," 'Faramee bowed.

"No, do not call off the Seraph squadron. Make a through sweep of the area. I want every Heretic Unggoy dead." Peace jumped ahead.

"By your command, my Lord, we shall look through the debris field and see what we can find," 'Faramee disappeared on the hologram for the last time.

Back at the holding cells, 'Arguree regained his consciousness, oblivious of his surroundings. It is a dark, gloomy cell that disoriented him.

"Your lucky, brother, back there I could've killed you for your heresy," spoke Rama 'Farazee, 'Arguree's closest partner. Yet, he is completely ashamed of what has happened, and treats his friend like Jackal food. "I dear hope you suffer the consequences," 'Farazee said.

"Save it. Do not waste my time with talk," still distorted, 'Arguree spoke once again, "Leave me, I wish to wait alone for my verdict," he said with doubt.

"I almost feel sorry for you my brother," said 'Farazee while he walked away.

The Resident Abroad, and its Ship Master, Luma 'Faramee, has been in service since the last years of the Age of Discovery.

"Great Trio! Report to the Bridge immediately!" 'Faramee commanded.

The Great Trio is a band of three high ranking Elites, with outstanding abilities, yet, they like to keep their missions at low profile. "Ah, my great brothers, you have arrived. We have an important issue to discuss."

"As they say, bring it on!" said the Great Trio's leader, being very confident of himself, and he was always the one who spent the most time at target practice.

"My fellow brothers, ever since we discovered the Sacred Ring, Gamma Halo, it has been inactive, until now," the Ship Master paused, "the Unggoy Rebels have stationed a base at the cartographer zone of Gamma Halo. I wish you to eliminate them all, however, wait for further instructions before you initiate your attack. That is all, my fellow Sangheili brothers."

The Trio retired back to their quarters. "What do you believe our further orders are? I am quite anxious," questioned Ulsa 'Ulagaree.

"Why ask me? All I wish is to fight, but I wonder as well," responded Zier 'Kamaree.

"Do not worry, my brothers. I believe we shall have a very special encounter with our attack," said Ruku 'Ramagee, the Leader, as he checked his Plasma Rifle.

Erhi 'Arguree was pulled away from his cell…the verdict has been decided.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2- _The Verdict_**

The verdict was held at the Mausoleum of the Arbiter. Every member of the Covenant could feel the Arbiters' souls. Erhi 'Arguree walked up to the door to the Mausoleum awkwardly, one step closer to his fate. He walked through the door.

"Erhi 'Arguree, you are hear by being charged with attempted murder of the holy Prophet of Peace. You are hereby found…" 'Arguree was about to fall to his knees from the shame and embarrassment against him, "guilty," Hope said without hesitation. The crowd clamored, all being watched by the Honor Guards, to prevent any outbreaks. "Your sentence, 'Arguree, is you shall be stripped of your rank and your honor, therefore, our ultimate punishment is death." The disgraced Elite almost fell to his knees as he believed he would, yet his own strength held him up, barely. Hope began again, "do you have any last words before your death? Speak now."

"I only wish to die with honor."

The crowd is forced to leave the room, one of the Kig-Yar tried to resist one of the Honor Guards, yet the Kig-Yar boob was executed by the Honor Guard. "Keep the line moving, or you shall face the same death!" He threatened. None lashed out again. After the crowd left the room, there was complete silence. The raised caskets seemed to stare down at the Heretic.

"Now that we are alone, we shall discuss your true verdict."

'Arguree was in question, "True Verdict? My lord, I do not understand."

"We know," said Sorrow, for he was always the one who preferred to explain oblivion, "As you may know, the Grunt rebellion has destroyed one of our ships, The Descendant." Sorrow stopped, revising what had happened for the last 12 hours. "The Ship Commander of the Resident Abroad has confirmed all Rebel escape pods have been destroyed," Sorrow finished. "However, there is still a strong presence on one of the Sacred Rings. The Rebel base exists their, it is massive, larger than we have anticipated, which is why we are sending the Great Trio in. But do not be fooled, that is not the real piece of the Crisis." Hope waited for 'Arguree's reply.

"What, does this have to do with me?" 'Arguree was very confused up until now.

"In times of extraordinary crisis, a unique warrior is called upon…the Arbiter." Hope began to explain. "This is a desperate time indeed, if this rebellion grows too large, the rest of the Covenant may betray us."

"My lord, my reason here is to wait for my execution; I cannot bear the momentum any longer," said 'Arguree, falling to his knees, begging forgiveness by the Gods.

Sorrow explained the true consequences. "You are called upon here to become the Vanguard of our Religious society, to become the Arbiter."

"Holy Prophet of Sorrow, why must I? To redeem myself?" asked 'Arguree as he began to understand the concept.

"Not redemption, your sentence, the punishment. You shall accompany the Great Trio to the Rebel base, and kill their leader, Gagap, which in any case, has stolen a crate of our newly tested energy shields, so be careful."

Hope began to pray. "You will need this, the Armor of the Arbiter." Peace simply flipped a switch on his chair; a large container sprung to life in the middle of the Mausoleum, The holy armor was inside. The container doors flew open, revealing holy light, and the Armor of the Arbiter.

"What will the council say to this?" 'Arguree began stripping, placing pieces of his new personality on.

"Your identity will simply be known as the Arbiter, so any outrages will be avoided," said Hope in an intelligent fashion, as always, "the Great Trio will know who you are, however, but I promise they shall not squall."

As the Arbiter was finished with the armor placement, he said, "When do I begin, my Lords?"

"You shall begin when the Great Trio's dropship arrives to pick you up. May the Gods be with you, Arbiter," said Hope as he prayed one last time.

Several hours later, 'Arguree was practicing for his secret mission in the brig, slaughtering some Rebel Grunts who have been captured, and armed for practice. The Arbiter passed with relative ease. Once he finished, a Sangheili brother came about.

"Arbiter, your presence is needed; your dropship is waiting for you."

"Thank you, I shall leave at once," replied the Arbiter, already out of the brig, heading toward the teleporter that would send to the hangar bay of High Charity. He walked through the mystical blue light.

He made his way through the hangar, a small one, yet useful for drop ships and Banshees if Rangers were using them.

"It is the Arbiter. Welcome, we must leave immediately!" said Ulsa 'Ulgaree.

The Arbiter was already pacing toward one of the dropship's arms. With his Energy Sword at hand, he hopped in, and waited for the member of the Trio to come aboard.

Ulsa jumped in, informing the pilot it was clear to depart. The first day of the Arbiter shall be glorious, 'Arguree thought. The Prophets shall be pleased.


End file.
